1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an outboard motor control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-218812 (particularly paragraphs 0034 to 0045; '812), for example, teaches an outboard motor configured to change shift position of the outboard motor clutch using an actuator. Specifically, the outboard motor of '812 changes shift position between forward, neutral and reverse by applying the output of the actuator to rotate a shift rod connected to the actuator so as to shift the clutch to a selected position among one where it engages a forward gear, one where it engages a reverse gear, and a neutral position where it does not engage either of these gears.
In actuator-operated shift change, a desired or specified clutch position is usually determined or defined for each shift position. However, differences may arise between the positions of the clutch where the shift positions are actually established and the desired clutch positions because of, for instance, assembly variance and allowances, aging of components, and unit-specific deviation in the output of the sensor for detecting the clutch position. So when the desired clutch positions are determined or defined as predetermined values beforehand, shifting errors may occur because the clutch is not accurately shifted to the positions where the shift positions are established.
Aside from the above, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-249791, for example, teaches an actuator-operated outboard motor configured to steer clockwise and counterclockwise using an actuator. This type of actuator-operated steering generally determines or defines a maximum or permissible steering angle of a steering wheel installed in the boat and controls the operation of the actuator so as to make the detected steering angle match a desired value within the maximum angle. However, differences may also arise between the desired value and the actual steering angle because of unit-specific differences among outboard motors owing to, for instance, assembly variance and allowances, aging of components, and unit-specific deviation in the output of the sensor for detecting the steering angle. So if a predetermined value is used as a desired value for control purposes when the outboard motor is steered to the maximum steering angle, there is a risk of the steering performance being degraded because the outboard motor cannot be steered to the maximum steering angle or, to the contrary, the outboard motor is steered beyond the maximum steering angle to cause interference between parts.